Hacking the Xbox by Andrew “bunnie” Huang

This book focuses on reverse engineering from the point of view of the hardware engineer, not the software engineer.

No Starch Press, 2003

ISBN: 1-59327-029-1

$24.99

Structured around a series of hardware hacking
projects that range in complexity from
installing an alternate LED and making
cables to eavesdropping on the motherboard with
a custom tap board, Hacking the Xbox
explores the hardware internals of Microsoft's
game console first by opening the case, then by
voiding the warranty and, finally, by taking a
look around. Doing so is a legal minefield under
the controversial Digital Millennium Copyright
Act (DMCA), and discussion of the DMCA is featured
frequently throughout the text. Although primarily
of interest to the North American reader, the
book provides insight into the problems that
can be created by well-intentioned but often
ill-informed legislators. Hackers living in other
countries may not worry too much about the DMCA,
but that's not to say there is not an equivalent
local legislation waiting in the wings.

Readers looking to learn about hacking the Xbox from a software
perspective will be intrigued but disappointed. Although it describes
some important Xbox software projects, Hacking the
Xbox focuses
on reverse engineering from the point of view of the hardware engineer,
not the software engineer. Detailed instructions on getting GNU/Linux
up and running on your Xbox are not here, but they are provided elsewhere,
and Andrew Huang
includes the required pointers. If you are the kind of person who is
at home with a screwdriver, a soldering iron, electronic components
and PCBs, then this is the book for you. Of course, it helps if you can
stomach potentially destroying your Xbox in the process. Not to worry,
though, as Huang provides detailed instructions on replacing
damaged
mass-storage devices, memory and power supplies should anything go wrong.

Subtitled An Introduction to Reverse Engineering,
Huang's Hacking the Xbox is much more. It is
an introduction to cryptography and its
use in hardware design. It is a warning on the threat to scientific
pursuit that is the DMCA. It is a primer on intellectual
property law
and its implications for hackers. It is a profile of the key players in
the Xbox Hacking community and it highlights their motivations, intent
and contributions. It's also a darned good read. What is astounding is
that Huang manages to do all this in under 270 pages.

Obviously, Hacking the Xbox describes the current Xbox and, now
that the book has been published (another story all in itself), it
is likely that the next-generation Xbox will change, invalidating the
bulk of the book's content. That said, the general hardware hacking techniques
described in Hacking the Xbox can be re-applied to the new Xbox,
albeit without the step-by-step instructions. Of course, with millions of
original Xbox consoles shipped worldwide, there will always be old,
replaced or upgraded Xboxes to play with, so the book will have worth for
some time to come.

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